Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide October 2004
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 2/39
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 4/39 1 Introduction The purposes of this User Guide are to: Teach you how to use Dynamic SiteStats Get you started easily and rapidly Be a resource for your future use Dynamic SiteStats is a powerful and robust web web analytics system that provides you the data you need to manage your website effectively. With Dynamic SiteStats, you can determine and measure : Characteristics and sources of your visitors Where visitors go within your website Actions visitors take on your website How effective are your online advertising efforts Just to give you an idea of the breadth and depth of information Dynamic SiteStats makes available to you, here is a partial list of what you can do with Dynamic SiteStats: Determine how many visitors arrive at your website from free organic placements in search engines by engine and search phrase. You can use this information to improve the traffic volume you get from search engines. Determine how many visitors arrive at your website from links affiliates, business directories, link exchanges any links at all. Measure the effectiveness of your email campaigns. Track visitors that arrive to your site from links in email campaigns and compare the effectiveness to your other marketing efforts. Determine the most popular paths that visitors take through your website. With this information, you can optimize your site to get the visitors to your key pages. Identify the number of first time visitors and returning visitors. You will know how effective your site is in attracting return visitors. If you organize your site into document groups of pages, you will be able to measure the visitors to each document group separately. This will show you the relative popularity of different sections of your website.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 5/39 Measure the number of downloads and what category of visitors downloaded those files. Determine the bounce rate of different pages and different sources of traffic. A typical bounce rate might be 50%, i.e. half the persons coming to your website leave after viewing only one page. Paying attention to bounce rates can help you improve the effectiveness of your pages and the quality of the traffic sources, so that more people navigate deeper into your website. Measure how many clicks it takes for visitors to get to key pages in your website. By reducing the number of clicks, you will improve the effectiveness of these pages. Determine the return on investment (ROI) for your promotional spends. You can identify the cost of the promotions and the revenue from the promotions. This information is available by traffic campaign, by type of visitor, and even by keyword. By modifying your spend based on this data, you can significantly improve your ROI. Set up specific scenarios (a sequence of pages) that you want visitors to traverse and then measure how many visitors go from page to page. This is extremely useful for a shopping cart. Industry data shows that more than 65% of shopping carts are abandoned. You will be able to see how visitors progress from page to page in your cart. Then, you modify your shopping cart pages (or any other scenario) to minimize abandonment.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 6/39 2 How Dynamic SiteStats works Dynamic SiteStats uses a sophisticated, browser-based, tracking system to identify and track visitors through your website. With this system, Dynamic SiteStats is able to identify details about your website visitors, where visitors go in your website, and what they do while in the website. Note: Dynamic SiteStats is not a log file analyzer. Browser-based systems and log file analyzers differ significantly in how they collect and interpret web traffic data. In general, browser-based systems are more suitable for evaluating visitor behavior and website performance than log file analyzers. If you would like to learn more about this, we invite you to read our white paper: Dynamic SiteStats vs Log File Analysis. 2.1 The short explanation Dynamic SiteStats identifies website visitors as first-time or returning visitors and which marketing campaign, if any, prompted their visit. Dynamic SiteStats identifies each page the visitor visits and what actions, if any, they take on or from that page. This may include: Clicking on a link to go to a different page; Taking action on the page (e.g. submit form, download items, etc.); Exiting the website. Dynamic SiteStats maintains a database of your web traffic statistics and produces various reports on demand for your review. 2.2 The long explanation Dynamic SiteStats is installed by adding a JavaScript tracking code to each web page you wish to track, and by uploading a JavaScript include file to the web server. Dynamic SiteStats generates a unique JavaScript tracking code and JavaScript include file for each project. Dynamic SiteStats assumes you will locate the JavaScript include file in the root folder, and the JavaScript tracking code references this location. If you locate the JavaScript include file elsewhere, then you must modify the JavaScript tracking code to reference this alternate location.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 7/39 Upon loading a page, the browser processes the JavaScript tracking code. That code directs the browser to retrieve a small, invisible pixel from the Dynamic SiteStats web server and to process the JavaScript include file. In so doing, detailed information about the visitor s activity is sent to the Dynamic SiteStats database, and Dynamic SiteStats sets (or resets) a cookie in the visitor s browser. The first time a visitor visits the website, Dynamic SiteStats sets a one-year, persistent cookie in their browser that includes a unique visitor ID number. During that visit, Dynamic SiteStats identifies them as a first time visitor. On subsequent visits, Dynamic SiteStats resets the cookie life to one year beyond the date of the visit, and identifies them as a returning visitor for the duration of that visit. If Dynamic SiteStats is unable to set a cookie, then it will identify the visitor as a first time visitor. If the visitor has deleted the cookie, then Dynamic SiteStats will identify them as a first time visitor. Dynamic SiteStats is able to set cookies in all browsers except those set to reject cookies at the highest security level. Research indicates this is less than 0.1% of all browsers. In the case that Dynamic SiteStats cannot set a cookie, the system can still retrieve information from the JavaScript tracking code, the IP address and the web browser user agent. You can define and track marketing campaigns within Dynamic SiteStats by means of unique landing page or referring URLs; Dynamic SiteStats will then identify which traffic campaign prompted a visit. During a visit, Dynamic SiteStats recognizes each time the browser loads a page from the website and records a page view. Note: Dynamic SiteStats does not distinguish how a page view occurs e.g. initial visit, refresh, reload from cache, etc. Dynamic SiteStats records all these as page views. Dynamic SiteStats enables you to define conversions actions e.g. actions taken by the visitor such as visiting a specific page, submitting a form, downloading a file, subscribing to a newsletter, etc. You can define conversion actions by editing the Dynamic SiteStats tracking code on key pages or adding JavaScript to your HTML links. Thereafter, Dynamic SiteStats will track conversions by visitors as below: If the visit is the first visit to the website, Dynamic SiteStats attributes any conversion to the cause that prompted the visit (a marketing campaign, organic search engines, no referrer, etc); If the visit is a return visit and a specific marketing campaign prompted this visit, then Dynamic SiteStats attributes any conversions to that specific campaign; If the visit is a return visit and no marketing campaign prompted this visit, then Dynamic SiteStats attributes any conversions to the cause that prompted the first visit to the website. Dynamic SiteStats maintains detailed records of every visit to the website in its database. When you request a report, Dynamic SiteStats mines this database to produce the reports in real time. All reports are defined by the time period you select.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 8/39 3 How to install and set up Dynamic SiteStats Dynamic SiteStats is relatively simple to install and set up. This section briefly describes the appropriate procedures, while the Installation and Setup Guide and the four Feature Guides provide you with detailed instructions. 3.1 Installing basic features (available in both the Premium and E-Business editions, except as noted) Use Chapters 2 and 3 of the Installation and Setup Guide to install the JavaScript tracking code and include file on your website. You can customize the JavaScript tracking code to measure statistics for: Document groups Document names Conversion analysis (only in the E-Business edition) Revenue tracking (only in the E-Business edition) Order ID tracking (only in the E-Business edition) Registered member tracking 3.2 Installing advanced features (available only in the E-Business edition) 3.2.1 Campaign Tracking The Campaign Tracking feature enables you to identify and track visitor behavior by campaigns that you define. You can use this feature to track online promotions such as CPC search engines (Overture, Google, etc), banner advertising, email campaigns, etc. You will be able to identify the visitor traffic generated by each campaign you identify. Use Chapter 4 of the Installation and Setup Guide to set up campaigns 2004 Dynamic SiteStats.com. All rights reserved.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 9/39 3.2.2 Conversion Analysis The Conversion Analysis feature measures visitor behavior by enabling you to identify actions that visitors take on your website, such as submitting a form, buying a product or service, subscribing to a newsletter, downloading a file, following specific links, and more. In combination with the Campaign Tracking feature you can measure the effectiveness of your promotional campaigns in obtaining the conversions you want. This is extremely useful when you need to evaluate promotion campaigns to determine those that are most cost-effective. Use the Conversion Analysis Feature Guide to set up action codes that enable you to measure conversions. 3.2.3 Scenario Analysis The Scenario Analysis feature enables you to set up a defined sequence of steps, i.e. a scenario, that you wish visitors to follow, such as a multi-step form submission, a shopping cart sales transaction, email subscription, and so on. This feature reports the percentage of visitors that progress each step along the defined scenario. This feature is extremely useful for evaluating and troubleshooting shopping cart abandonment. Use Chapter 5 of the Installation and Setup Guide and the Scenario Analysis Feature Guide to define scenarios and install this feature. 3.2.4 Path Explorer The Path Explorer feature enables you to determine the relative popularity of website links from page to page in your website. From a given web page, you can see the number and percentage of visitors who followed each link from that page. In addition, you can segment your visitors according to various criteria, such as CPC search engine visitors, organic search engine visitors, advertising campaigns, first time and returning visitors, and more. This enables you to compare how different visitor segment groups navigate your website. Use Chapter 6 of the Installation and Setup Guide and the Path Explorer Feature Guide to install and utilize Path Explorer. 3.2.5 CPC Live Cost Analysis CPC Live Cost Analysis enables you to measure the effectiveness of your paid search engine campaigns (also known as Pay Per Click or PPC). This feature combines the actual live data on your bid costs with the revenue generated by your website sales to measure the profitability of each CPC
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 10/39 keyword. This means you can obtain a detailed breakdown of your CPC advertising campaigns such as cost, revenue generated, cost per sale, return on ad spend, and more. Use the CPC Live Cost Analysis Feature Guide to install this feature 3.3 An overview of Dynamic SiteStats settings You can configure your Dynamic SiteStats account in the Settings section. To access this section, click on the Settings tab in the top navigation bar. There are up to nine areas within this section that you can use to setup and modify Dynamic SiteStats (depending on which Dynamic SiteStats edition you have purchased). Personal setup - Edit your personal information and change your personal password. Billing setup Edit your organization's administrative and technical contact information, view billing history and change credit card details. Users & roles - Add and modify users, and set user rights. Projects (web sites) - Add new web sites to your account or edit the settings of web sites. Report preferences - Exclude your browser or a range of IP addresses from your reports. Set report defaults such as report period or number of rows. Scheduled Email Reports - Set up and customize scheduled web traffic reports to be emailed to you and your colleagues. Action tracking Define actions to be tracked, such as a form submission, email newsletter registration, file download and more. The ACTION 01 variable is reserved for sales tracking. Actions are used to generate conversion rate reports. Campaigns & PPC Tracking - Set up campaign tracking, such as pay-per-click search engine tracking, email, affiliate, banner tracking and more. Scenario Analysis - Define a series of steps that a visitor must take to complete a transaction (a sale, a form submission etc.) so as to evaluate the effectiveness of this process.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 11/39 4 How to use Dynamic SiteStats This how to section will show you how to use Dynamic SiteStats to measure and evaluate some key metrics of your website traffic flow. In our opinion, the true value of metrics lies in using them to improve website performance. Therefore, this section includes not only the details of how to obtain key metrics using Dynamic SiteStats, but also how to use these metrics to optimize your website performance. 4.1 How to set up Dynamic SiteStats defaults 4.1.1 How to provide access for your colleagues You may have several different persons who need access to your Dynamic SiteStats account, but you do not want them all to be able to make changes to your reports etc. Dynamic SiteStats is extremely flexible in enabling you to set up as many users as you like with different levels of access. For example, you may decide to offer your web designer access to statistical reports, but not your billing details. If you re tracking several projects, you can create an account to offer a colleague or partner access to just one of those projects. Go to SETTINGS- Users & Roles; Follow the instructions to add new users and identify their levels of access. 4.1.2 How to exclude your own visits Typically, you will visit your website from time to time, and you may even set your website as the default browser homepage. However, you probably don t want your own visits to the website to be counted in the traffic data. Dynamic SiteStats makes it easy to eliminate your visits from the traffic data. The procedure below will eliminate the visits from any one specific computer (browser). If you use more than one browser on a specific computer (such as Internet Explorer and Netscape), then you need to follow the procedure below for each browser on that computer. (A simpler solution might be to exclude that company s IP address from your statistics. See section 4.1.3) Go to SETTINGS- Reports preferences; Under Project Settings you will see a line item labeled Exclude Browser and the status of that item either enabled or disabled. If it is enabled, then Dynamic SiteStats is not counting
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 12/39 your visits to the website. If it is disabled, then Dynamic SiteStats is counting your visits to the website; To change the status, click on the Edit button underneath the General Settings section. This will bring up a new screen; To set Dynamic SiteStats to ignore your visits, place a check in the box labeled Exclude browser. To set Dynamic SiteStats to count your visits, then uncheck the box; Scroll down until you see the Update button. Click on this button. This is must be done in order to implement your selections. A common mistake is to make changes on this screen and then forget to press the Update button; The previous screen is displayed with your changes. 4.1.3 How to exclude visits by colleagues Many persons in your company or organization might visit your website every day (tens, hundreds, even thousands). Usually, you do not want their visits included in the traffic statistics. If your organization has a static IP address, then Dynamic SiteStats can exclude their visits en masse. Just follow the procedure below to set this up. If your organization has a dynamic IP address, then you will have to follow the procedure itemized earlier to exclude their visits computer by computer and browser by browser. Go to SETTINGS- Exclude your browser and edit report defaults; Click on the Edit button below the General Settings section; In the box labeled IP filtering, enter the static IP address for your company; Scroll down until you see the Update button. Click on this button. This is must be done in order to implement your selections. A common mistake is to make changes on this screen and then forget to press the Update button; The previous screen is displayed with your changes. 4.1.4 How to adjust the number of rows in a report Dynamic SiteStats makes it possible for you to display up to 100 rows in a report. You can set a default number of rows in the Settings area as described below. Also, you can modify the number of rows dynamically as you view a specific report. Go to SETTINGS- Exclude your browser and edit report defaults;
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 13/39 Click on the Edit button underneath the General Settings section; Scroll down to the Statistics section and set both the default period and number of rows for your reports; Scroll down until you see the Update button. Click on this button. This is must be done in order to implement your selections. A common mistake is to make changes on this screen and then forget to press the Update button; Now Dynamic SiteStats will automatically display the default number of rows you selected for all reports. To change the number of rows Dynamic SiteStats displays when you are viewing a specific report: Scroll to the bottom of the report; There you will find an input box with dropdown selections for the number of rows; Select the number of rows you wish to view and press the Ok button; Dynamic SiteStats will reformat the page to display the report with the number of rows you selected; This change will persist for the duration of your login session. The next time you log in Dynamic SiteStats will reset to display the number of rows you originally configured in your Settings. 4.1.5 How to adjust the reporting time period for reports There are two ways to select the reporting time period one dynamically and the other as a default in the Settings. If you do nothing at all, Dynamic SiteStats uses the current day as the default time period. Select report period dynamically When you access the Reports section, you ll see at the top of the left-hand column a section entitled 'Report Period. The time period for the reports is set to the default (as you select in the Settings and as described below). To change this report period, simply click on the button that says Custom Range.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 14/39 Click on one calendar date to select the beginning of your custom reporting range, Click on a second date to define the end of the period. Click on the Ok button. Dynamic SiteStats now displays all the reports for this session with the report period you selected. You can change the report period as many times as you wish during this session. When you leave Dynamic SiteStats, it will automatically return to the default report period for your next visit. Select report period by default Go to SETTINGS- Report preferences- Exclude your browser and edit report defaults Click on the Edit button underneath the General Settings section. Scroll down to the Default Report Period section and select the desired time period (day, week, or month). Scroll down until you see the Update button. Click on this button. This is must be done in order to implement your selections. A common mistake is to make changes on this screen and then forget to press the Update button. Now Dynamic SiteStats will automatically use your default report period when you initially access the reports. 4.1.6 How to add a website (project) to your Dynamic SiteStats account The Dynamic SiteStats E-Business edition enables you to manage up to three websites (or projects) under one account. The reports are completely separate, and you can manage access to them independently. It is as if you had three different Dynamic SiteStats accounts. Note: E-business accounts include three projects; Premium edition and trial accounts include one project; You can add additional projects for a small monthly charge please contact your sales representative. Most of the time you will track one website with one project. In some cases, you may wish to divide one website across multiple projects. Imagine, for example, a website published in English, Spanish and French; Since each language audience is distinct, you might choose to track each language in a separate Dynamic SiteStats project.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 15/39 In other cases, you may wish to track multiple websites under one project. The issue here is how you define and track your marketing campaigns. Imagine, for example, you manage one main website, and a microsite built around a specific product or brand. By managing these websites in one project, you can track visitors that arrive at your microsite as the result of a marketing campaign, and then progress to the main website to make a purchase. If you track these sites in different projects you won t be able to associate the purchase on your website to the marketing campaign that brought your visitor to the microsite. To add or manage projects: Go to SETTINGS- Projects (web sites)- Manage projects Follow the instructions therein. Note: Each Dynamic SiteStats project must have its own distinct tracking code. Do not use the code for one project in another project, as this will not provide you with the correct information. Should you require additional projects, you can purchase these separately. 4.1.7 How to group multiple domains in one project The Dynamic SiteStats E-Business edition provides you with three projects, each identified by a unique tracking code. As long as each page you wish to track contains the same tracking code, the traffic data for those pages will appear in the same set of reports (i.e. project). In some cases, you may run identical versions of your website under different domains (e.g., www.yourwebsite.com and www.yourwebsite.net ). Since each page of your website might have two names, this would cause confusion in your reports. For example, in your Top Entry Pages report, you would see different entries for www.yourwebsite.com/index.html and www.yourwebsite.net/index.html, which are actually the same page. The solution is to group your domains. In other words, you need to tell Dynamic SiteStats that each page with the address www.yourwebsite.net should be mapped to www.yourwebsite.com in your reports. To group domains and URLs: Go to SETTINGS- Projects (websites)- Group domains, URLs Follow the instructions therein.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 16/39 4.1.8 How to set up Dynamic SiteStats to report correctly for your time zone When you first set up your Dynamic SiteStats account, you entered a time zone for your website or business. Dynamic SiteStats uses your time zone selection to calculate the times and calendar data for your reports. If you need to change your time zone, do so as follows: Go to SETTINGS- Exclude your browser and edit report defaults Click on the Edit button underneath the General Settings section. Scroll down to the Time Zone section and select the appropriate time zone. Scroll down until you see the Update button. Click on this button. This is must be done in order to implement your selections. A common mistake is to make changes on this screen and then forget to press the Update button. Now Dynamic SiteStats will automatically keep track of your data according to the time zone you selected. 4.1.9 How to set up Dynamic SiteStats to regularly email reports to you You may want to access the Dynamic SiteStats on a regular basis to obtain performance reports. Typically, you will want to access several reports. Dynamic SiteStats makes it easy by enabling you to arrange for the reports to be emailed to you and your colleagues automatically, instead of you having to access the reports on the web. This is a time saving convenience. Go to SETTINGS- Scheduled Email Reports- Customize and schedule reports for email delivery Click on the Add button. Select the reports and input parameters appropriate to meet your report needs. Input the email addresses that should receive this report, separated by commas. Click on the Add button to implement this report. Dynamic SiteStats will now add this report to a list of automatic reports. You can add, delete, and modify reports from this screen.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 17/39 Note: The default number of rows for automatic reports is 200 rows. 4.1.10 How to set up Campaign Tracking to identify sources of visitors Dynamic SiteStats enables you to identify specific sources of traffic by with Campaign Tracking. You set up a campaign by defining it in the Settings, and you see the results of your campaign in your reports. Campaign Tracking is a powerful means to evaluate the effectiveness of traffic sources. By using campaigns, you will be able to measure the number of visitors, bounce rates, conversion rates, ROI and more for each of your designated traffic sources. Follow the steps below to set up a campaign: Log in to your account; Enter the Campaign Management interface; Choose a campaign type and click on the 'Add Campaign' button; Specify a name for your campaign; Specify the referrer or the entry page pattern of the campaign; Click 'Add'. Your campaign reports will be available in the reports section under the Marketing menu. From this time forward, the campaign will be active, however it will not apply to historical data.. One common source of errors is in spelling your referrer or landing page incorrectly. If this is information is entered incorrectly, Dynamic SiteStats will not be able to measure your campaign traffic. Another common problem is campaign tracking string conflicts, as in this example: URL contains: ref=overture URL contains: ref=overtureuk Since both tracking strings are defined with URL contains and both strings contain the phrase ref=overture, Dynamic SiteStats will report this as a conflict.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 18/39 After you have set up your campaign, test it by accessing the landing page or website using the campaign identifiers you selected. Then, check in the traffic reports to see that your visit was recorded properly. 4.1.11 How to group sections of content for reports You may wish to measure Page Views of a certain group of pages, regardless of what folders these pages reside in. Dynamic SiteStats makes it easy for you to designate a Document Group of pages. These can be any pages you wish in your website. You define them as belonging to a particular Document Group by adjusting one line of the JavaScript code on those pages. You can have as many different Document Groups as you like. Please refer to the Installation and Setup Guide for further instructions. Designate Document Groups Change one line of the JavaScript code: From: //var DOCUMENTGROUP To: var DOCUMENTGROUP= Whatever name you wish 4.1.12 How to name your web pages for reporting purposes Many Dynamic SiteStats report offer you the option of viewing by URL or page title. In many cases, it s easier to grasp the essence of a report by viewing page titles rather than URLs. You can set the page title displayed in your Dynamic SiteStats reports by editing the DOCUMENTNAME variable in the JavaScript tracking string. Note: If you don t use the DOCUMENTNAME variable, then Dynamic SiteStats will use as a default the HTML title tag. If neither option is available the Dynamic SiteStats will either leave the title blank (in most reports) or list the page title as unknown (in Path Analysis). Designate Document Titles Change one line of the JavaScript code: From: //var DOCUMENTNAME To: var DOCUMENTNAME= Whatever name you wish
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 19/39 4.1.13 How to set up actions for Conversion Analysis Dynamic SiteStats provides a means for you to identify certain visitor behaviors or actions that you wish to measure. These can include completing a purchase, submitting a form, clicking on a link and more. To set up Dynamic SiteStats to measure Conversions, you must install Action Codes in the JavaScript on the key pages or links and provide the appropriate identification of these Action Codes in the Dynamic SiteStats Settings. The Conversion Analysis Feature Guide describes this process in detail. In addition, you will find instructions in the Settings area as below: Go to SETTINGS- Custom actions & Conversion tracking Note: If you want to define an action for a file or PDF download you need to customize the link syntax instead of the customization code on the page: Original link: <a href= setup.exe >Installation Guide</a> Link with custom action: <a href= setup.exe onclick= ACTION= 05 >Installation Guide</a> Note: This solution works as long as you don t define an action in your Dynamic SiteStats tracking code. If you need to define an action for a link as well as in your tracking code, please contact your Dynamic SiteStats support representative for assistance. Note: It is not strictly necessary to define a custom action for a file download. Exit links and downloads are tracked automatically even if you have not defined an action. 4.2 Visitors - who are they and where do they come from Some of the most important metrics of your website performance relate to visitor traffic. Dynamic SiteStats offers you numerous reports that provide insight on this traffic. It is important to understand the difference between visitors and unique visitors (see Glossary). Also note that all Dynamic SiteStats reports are based on visits, unless the report is specifically identified as unique visitors.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 20/39 Dynamic SiteStats combines most of the visitor reports into a navigation section labeled Visitors, located under the left side navigation heading Report Type. The descriptions below show you how to use Dynamic SiteStats to measure various aspects of visitor traffic. 4.2.1 How to determine the number of visitors Your first visitor traffic metric is probably the number of visitors during a given time period. Go to REPORTS- Visitors- Daily Visitors, Weekly Visitors or Monthly Visitors This report includes visitors per day over the selected period. Note: These are not unique visitors you may see multiple visits by the same unique visitor in this data. 4.2.2 How to determine and interpret First Time and Returning Visitors First time visitors are new to your website, while returning visitors have been to your website previously. The knowledge of their relative numbers may be important to you. Go to REPORTS- Visitors- First Time vs. Returning 4.2.3 How to determine and interpret Unique Visitors Unique visitors, as defined in the Glossary, are distinctly different visitors during a period. If the same visitor visits your website more than once during the period, Dynamic SiteStats counts only one occurrence of a unique visitor. Go to REPORTS- Visitors- Daily Visitors 4.2.4 How to determine visitors by Document Group If you set up Document Groups in your website, then Dynamic SiteStats will measure how many visitors visited these sections of the site. This is helpful when you want to determine the relative popularity of key sections of the website. Go to REPORTS- Visitors- Visitors by Document Group
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 21/39 4.2.5 How to determine your most recent visitors Dynamic SiteStats collects detailed information on visitors as they visit the website. It presents some of these details for each visitor such as IP address, origin, landing page, pages visited, time on site, search phrase (if applicable), country, US state and system details. Dynamic SiteStats presents this information in order of the most recent visit. Go to REPORTS- Visitors- Last Visitor Details 4.2.6 How to determine the sources of visitors Dynamic SiteStats makes it possible to identify the sources of visitors by several means. This can be useful in evaluating website performance. The following sources are not exclusive. In other words, a given visitor will be reported in as many different sources as appropriate. Referrer Sources A referrer is a page that links to your website, including search engine results pages. Dynamic SiteStats provides a report that shows you how many visitors came to your website from which other web pages. You can view this data broken down according to URL or by domains. Typically, you will find the domain version most helpful. Go to REPORTS- Marketing- Referrers- Referring Domains or Referring URLs Note: No referrer means visitors who arrived by bookmark, manual entry into the address bar, text based email links, and spawned web pages (new browser windows). Search Engine Sources It can be helpful to be able to determine which search engines are sending you traffic and which search phrases are generating that traffic. If you are not receiving traffic from a search engine, you may wish to check whether that search engine has indexed your website. If it has not, then you may wish to submit your website to that engine. If it has, you may wish to investigate how to better optimize your web pages to attract search engine traffic. Dynamic SiteStats identifies search engines by matching the referrer IP address to a database of search engine IP addresses. Note that this will include both the organic (free) traffic and traffic from paid search engine campaigns.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 22/39 If you run paid search campaigns (Google AdWords, Overture, etc), then you should configure your Dynamic SiteStats Campaign Settings to identify the traffic from these sources. Dynamic SiteStats makes it easy to separate paid search traffic from organic search engine traffic. Note: Your paid search engine campaigns will provide traffic partner websites as well as the main search engine. Some of these partner sites will not be search engines. Therefore, Dynamic SiteStats will not record the traffic generated from these non-search engine partners as traffic from the search engine. To determine the total traffic from a search engine (including organic traffic, paid-for traffic, but excluding partner traffic): Go to REPORTS- Marketing- Search Engines- Engines or Phrases To determine only the organic traffic from search engines: Go to REPORTS- Marketing- Search Engines - Organic Search Engines or Organic Search Phrases Demographic Sources Dynamic SiteStats determines many demographics about visitors based upon their IP address and to whom that IP address is assigned. This information is organized and presented as follows: Go to REPORTS- Demographics- select: Language Organization Countries Areas of the World Time Zones US States Campaign Sources If you set up Campaign Tracking (see section 4.1.10), you can view the traffic generated by your campaigns as follows: Go to REPORTS- Marketing- Campaign Summary Therein, you will find traffic for all your campaigns and all non-campaign traffic.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 23/39 Note: You may find that the campaign traffic measured by Dynamic SiteStats is often less than the campaign traffic reported by the traffic source (such as a PPC engine, directory link, etc). This difference is due to differences in how your traffic source measures a visitor and how Dynamic SiteStats measures a visitor. The traffic source counts a click on a link to your website as a visitor. However, Dynamic SiteStats only counts a visitor if the webpage is loaded in a browser and the JavaScript code executed. Whether or not the JavaScript code executes depends on whether the page is fully loaded, the position of the code on the page, and whether JavaScript is turned off in the visitor s browser. Typically, Dynamic SiteStats visitor numbers will be up to 10% lower than your traffic source s numbers. 4.3 Page Metrics what they are and how to interpret them Page metrics are measurements relating to pages and aggregates of pages. 4.3.1 How to determine Page Views A page view is one instance of a visitor viewing a page. Each view of the same page by the same visitor is counted as an independent page view. Dynamic SiteStats records a page view every time a page is loaded into a web browser and the JavaScript code that page is executed. This includes the first visit to the website, any page refreshes, any reloads of the page from a cache, and so on. If your visitor has turned off JavaScript at the browser, then Dynamic SiteStats still records a visit but cannot pick up visitor data such as the referrer (which web page the visitor arrived from), IP address, country, US state or system data such as browser version, operating system, screen resolution and so on. Visitors without JavaScript are recorded in the above reports as unknown. If your visitors has turned off cookies, then Dynamic SiteStats records a visit but cannot tell whether the visitor is a first-time or returning visitor. Visitors without cookies are recorded in the visitor reports as unknown. If a visitor arrives without cookies and without JavaScript Page views are a rough way to measure website popularity, as well as the level of visitor interest. The more page views per visitor, presumably the more interest visitors have in the website. Aggregate of all page views or Go to REPORTS- Summary- Page Views
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 24/39 Go to REPORTS- Pages & Files- Page Views Individual pages views Go to REPORTS- Pages & Files- Most Requested Pages- By URL or By Title Document Group Page Views If you have set up your pages into Document Groups, then you can measure the page views of each Document Group. Go to REPORTS- Pages & Files- Page Views by Document Group Directory Page Views Dynamic SiteStats also reports the total of page views for each directory in your website structure. This is helpful to determine relative areas of interest by visitors in lieu of or in addition to Document Groups. Go to REPORTS- Pages & Files- Top Directories Page Views per Visitor Session This is the total number of page views divided by the number of visitor sessions (aka number of visitors). This is a useful measure of the degree of interest visitors may have in your website. The more interested they are, the more pages they visit. Downloaded Files Go to REPORTS- Activity- Page Views per Session Dynamic SiteStats records a download each time a visitor clicks on a download file. There is no need to set this up in the Settings. Dynamic SiteStats knows automatically that a file is available for download and keeps track of the download attempts. Go to REPORTS- Pages & Files- Downloads- Downloads by Full URL or Downloads by File Name Note: Dynamic SiteStats records the click on the download file. It does not determine if the download was completed. Download Pages
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 25/39 Dynamic SiteStats also automatically knows which pages contain downloadable files. It records the number of page views of these download pages, even if there was no download by the visitor. Go to REPORTS- Pages & Files- Download Pages- By URL or BY Title or By Content Group 4.3.2 How to determine Entry Pages An entry page is the first page a visitor views when accessing your website. This entry page may be specifically designed to be an entry page (by making it attractive to search engines or by identifying it as a landing page in Campaign Tracking) or it may be happenstance that a visitor arrives first on a given page. By knowing which pages are entry pages, you can work to improve those pages so that visitors are more likely to progress further into the website. Go to REPORTS- Navigation- Entry Pages- By URL or By Title 4.3.3 How to determine Single Access Pages A single access page is one that the visitor both enters and from which they exit. It is the only page a visitor sees of your website. Single access pages occur for two reasons: First, the visitor traffic may not be appropriate for the website (not within your target marketing. i.e. lower quality ), e.g. they are looking for tennis shoes and your website is about mountain climbing. The solution here is to improve your traffic acquisition to obtain higher quality traffic and eliminate lower quality traffic. Second, the page may not engage the visitor to draw them further into the website. The solution here is to improve the attractiveness of the page to entice the visitor further into the website, e.g. emphasize benefits (what is in it for them) to the visitor. Go to REPORTS- Pages & Files- Single Access Pages- By URL or By Title 4.3.4 How to determine Bounce Rates Dynamic SiteStats records a bounce for each single access event. It then calculates bounce rates for the website overall and each individual page. The bounce rate is another means of expressing single accesses to your website.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 26/39 Individual Pages Go to REPORTS- Navigation- Bounce Rate- By Entry Page URL or By Entry Page Title or Website Go to REPORTS- Summary- Bounce Rate (by default this will be by entry page URL) Go to either of the above reports. Scroll to the bottom of the report. The aggregate bounce rate is displayed on the last line. 4.3.5 How to determine Exit Links You most likely have exit links on your website, i.e. links that take a visitor off the website. It can be helpful to determine the relative popularity of these links. If you are losing a lot of visitors to exit links before they have a chance to interact with your website, you may wish to reevaluate the usefulness of those links. Dynamic SiteStats automatically identifies exit links and provides you with two reports as below: Go to REPORTS- Navigation- Exit Links- Exit Links By Full URL or Exit Links By Domain Go to REPORTS- Navigation- Exit Links- Pages with Exit Links- By URL or By Title or By Document Group Note: If you re mapping two or more domains to the same website (for example, if you host a.net and a.com version of your domain name) or running subdomains (e.g. admin.yourwebsite.com and support.yourwebsite.com ) then Dynamic SiteStats may error report links to such pages as exit links. The solution is to map these additional domains to your primary domain (see How to manage multiple domains in one project ; section 4.1.7)
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 27/39 4.3.6 How to determine Clicks to Pages Dynamic SiteStats defines the number of pages visited prior to visiting a specific page as clicks to pages. This is a measure of your website s complexity. Ideally, you want people to find your key pages with the minimum number of clicks. Go to REPORTS- Navigation- Clicks to Pages- By URL or By Title 4.4 Visitor behavior on your website Dynamic SiteStats provides several means to evaluate how visitors interact with your website. This is a dimension beyond simply what and how many pages are visited. 4.4.1 How to measure Conversions A Conversion is a visitor who completes an action that you have pre-determined that you wish to measure. In Section 4.1 of this document, you have instructions on how to set up Action Codes to implement the measurement of Conversions. In addition, the Conversion Analysis Feature Guide provides detailed instructions and information. Once you have set up the Action Codes, Dynamic SiteStats will automatically measure and report Conversions. Go to REPORTS- Marketing- Conversions- select: Conversion Summary (presents all occurrences of all actions) Conversion by Campaign Conversion by Referring Domains Conversion by Referring URLs Conversion by Search Engines Conversion by Search Phrases Conversion by Languages Conversion by Organizations Conversions by Countries Conversions by Entry Pages (by URL or Title) Conversions by Organic Search Engines Conversions by Organic Search Phrases Note: Dynamic SiteStats collects this data only from the time you installed the Action Codes, not retroactively.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 28/39 4.4.2 How to measure Scenarios A scenario is a series of steps that you pre-define that you wish a visitor to undertake, such as completing a sales transaction, multi-part form submission etc. You can use the data you obtain in Scenario Analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the process and identify areas for improvement. For example, assume you have a four-step sales process. With Scenario Analysis, you discover that the majority of your sales abandonment is occurring between steps two and three. Therefore, you can now focus your efforts on step two to minimize abandonment. To set up a Scenario Analysis Go to SETTINGS- Scenario Analysis- Add New Scenario Follow the instructions In addition, the Scenario Analysis Feature Guide contains detailed instructions and information. Note: It is crucial that you input URLs and fractional URLs correctly. A small typo will result in no data. Test your Scenario Analysis by completing the scenario yourself to insure it is working correctly. Note: Dynamic SiteStats will record data for the Scenario Analysis from the time you implement it, not retroactively. Note: Scenarios are not exclusive. Two or more scenarios may share the same entry or exit points, or have pages in common, which means that some visitor transactions may be recorded in more than one scenario. To obtain Scenario Analysis reports Go to REPORTS- Marketing- Scenario Analysis 4.4.3 How to track the revenue generated by different traffic sources If you have a direct sales website, it can be very useful to be able to determine the amount of revenue each traffic source is generating. Then, you can manage your traffic sources to optimize your revenue and minimalize your marketing costs. Set up Revenue Tracking
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 29/39 The Dynamic SiteStats Installation and Setup Guide provides detailed instructions on how to set up your Dynamic SiteStats system to track revenue. It only requires the addition of one line of JavaScript tracking code on your sales confirmation page. Note: Dynamic SiteStats will report revenues from the time you set up the JavaScript code to do so. It is not retroactive. Reports of revenue by traffic sources Once you set up Revenue Tracking, Dynamic SiteStats will automatically report on revenues generated by the traffic sources. You can view these revenues in any of the Conversion reports: Go to REPORTS- Marketing- Conversions- select: Conversion Summary (presents all occurrences of all actions) Conversion by Campaign Conversion by Referring Domains Conversion by Referring URLs Conversion by Search Engines Conversion by Search Phrases Conversion by Languages Conversion by Organizations Conversions by Countries Conversions by Entry Pages (by URL or Title) Conversions by Organic Search Engines Conversions by Organic Search Phrases 4.4.4 How to measure paid search ROI using Live CPC Cost Analysis Dynamic SiteStats offers a very powerful feature that retrieves the dynamic costs you pay for promotion at the leading paid search engines (Google, Overture, FindWhat and many more) and matches that with the revenue you earn from these promotions to track your paid search return on investment (ROI). Dynamic SiteStats calculates your ROI down to the level of individual keywords, so that you can optimize your campaigns and increase revenues while reducing marketing costs. (Note: CPC Live Cost Analysis is available as an add-on to the E-Business edition.) Setup The setup for this feature is not trivial. To set up Revenue Tracking you need to customize your JavaScript tracking code with the Action 01 and Revenue variables as well as, optionally, the Order ID variable. To retrieve your CPC costs, and to track your CPC campaign results, you need to add a tracking string to the landing page URLs you enter into your paid search campaign settings, as well as enter that tracking string into your Dynamic SiteStats campaign settings.
Dynamic SiteStats Users Guide - October 2004 30/39 Please refer to the CPC Live Cost Analysis Feature Guide for detailed instructions. Reports Go to REPORTS- Marketing- CPC Live Cost Analysis 4.4.5 How to evaluate the popularity of internal links using Path Explorer A unique, optional feature of Dynamic SiteStats is the ability to measure the relative popularity of links on each page of your website. By using the Path Explorer plug-in to your browser (Internet Explorer 5.5 and higher), you can view the numbers and percentages of visitors who clicked on links from one page in your website to another. With this knowledge, you can optimize your pages for the visitors who take the links you prefer. The Path Explorer Feature Guide contain detailed instructions on how to install and implement Path Explorer for your website. The Path Explorer results are presented in the Browser Interface rather than in the REPORTS.